Vehicle suspension and shock-absorber.



F. 0. BOSWELL. VEHICLE SUSPENSION AND SHOCK ABSORBER. APPLICATION FILEDJUNE 28. I9I7.

l ,266,656 Patented May 21, 1918.

INVEN TOR By I Zf/MLZMM 1I/113.

FLETCHER O. BOSWELIMOF PHILADELPHIA., PENNSYLVANIA.

VEHICLE SUSPENSION AND SHOCK-ABSORBER.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1918.

Application led .Tune 28, 1917. Serial No. 177,445.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Beit known that I, FLn'roHnR O. BoswELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and Statey ofPennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in VehiclelSuspensions and Shock-Absorbers, of which the followingk is aspecification. n

V My invention relates to new and useful improvements in vehiclesuspensions and shock absorbers, and has for its object to provide adevice of this character which will absorb the shock incident toobstructions upon the roadway and consists of arcuate tracks or runwayswith which coact thrust members normally forced outward or toward thearcuate tracks by` means of a combination of elements actingtransversely or longitudinally upon each of the thrust memberssimultaneously.

A further object of the invention is to provide a suitable supportingmember or strut beam carrying arcuate runways or tracks with which coactsuitable thrust members pivoted to a body supporting bar or the chassissaid thrust members being connected to a telescoping element carrying abar member intermediate its ends against which rest springs whichnormally force the thrust members outward and other springs coactingwith the thrust members for assisting in the support of the vehicle bodyand acting as buffers to prevent undue movement of the parts.

With these ends in view, this invention consists in the details ofconstruction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and thenspecifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this inventionappertains may understand how to make and use the same, I will describeits construction in detail referring by numerals to the accompanyingdrawings forming a part of this application in which- Figure 1, is aview in elevation of a vehicle suspension and shock absorber made inaccordance with my invention portions thereof being shown in section toclearly illustrate the construction.

Fig. 2, is a section of the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 looking in the directionofthe arrow.

Fig. 3, is a side elevation or face view of one of the thrust members,and

Fig. 4, is a plan or end view thereof.

In carrying out my invention as herein embodied, 2 represents a strutbeam adapted to be secured in any suitable manner to the proper part ofa vehicle, such as the running gear, the front or rear axle and to thisstrut beam adjacent each end thereof are secured the arcuate tracks 3 bysuitable fastening devices such as bolts at and nuts 5. rPhe upper endsof these arcuate tracks or runways are connected by suitable reach barsG of which there are two, the same being spaced apart and runningparallel.

The reference numeral 7 ldenotes a vehicle body supporting bar or aportion of the chassis having hangers S secured thereto by suitablemeans such as bolts 9 and nuts 10. To each hanger is pivotally orswingingly secured a thrust member 11 comprising a leg 12 having a hole13 at one end `thereof for the reception of the stud 14k or itsequivalent whereby the thrust member may be pivotcd to the hanger 8, andan outwardly projecting arm 15 at right angles to the leg 12 and a shortdistance from the lower end of said leg, thereby leaving an extension1G. The end of the arm 15 is bifurcated as at 17 and provided with ahole 18 for the axle 19 of the roller 20 which coacts with the arcuatetrack or runway.A

Projecting from the leg 12 in an opposite direction to the arm 15 andapproximately on a line therewith is formed a bifurcated lug 2l having ahole 22 therethrough. To the bifurcated lug of one thrust member 11 ispivotally secured a tubular member 23 by means of a stud 24 set in thehole 22 and passing through the end of the tubular member while to thebifurcated lug of the other thrust member is pivotally secured a rod 25by means of a stud 24 the same as herein before described and said rodtelescopes in the tubular member. The tubular member and the rod areeach of less length than the distance between the two thrust members intheir normal positions to permit of a certain amount of inward movementof the thrust members without binding of the parts as will be obvious.

Upon the tubular member intermediate the ends thereof and approximatelymidway between the two thrust members is loosely mounted thc sleeve orspool 26 having enlarged ends 27 so as to form abutment for one end ofeach of the springs 28 which are coiled about the telescoping element,consisting of the tubular member andv rod, the other ends of saidsprings engaging the swinging or pivoted thrust members ll, thusnormally forcing said thrust members outward to hold the rollers 2'() inconstant con'- tact with the track surface of the arcuate tracks orrunways Each of the. arcuate track members is preferably formed with abase extension 3S having a socket 29 or other suitable attaching meansfor one end of they spring 30, the other end of said spring engaging orbeing secured tov the under side of the arm` 15 of the thrust member andanother spring 31 engages or is secured to the upper surface of said armwhile the' opposite end of said spring` is secured to the reach bars Gor engages a socket 32`carried' by said reach bars.

In practice, any weight evenly distributed upon the body supportingmember o'r chassis 7 will compress the springs 30 arranged be'- tweenthe bases of the track members and the arms 15 of the thrust' memberscausing said thrust members tov move downward or toward the' strut beamand said downward movement of the thrust members will cause the rollers2U to run upon these portions of the arcuate tracks which are the leastdistanceV apart causing the lower ends of the thrust members to be'forced inward against the action of the springs 28 so that said springsare brought into play to assist the springs 30 in cushioning andabsorbing any shocks. Should the weight upon the body supporting member7 be distributed unevenly and only one of the thrust members 11 isforced downward, the other thrust member will naturally be forced upwardagainst the action of its spring 3l and as the track surfaces areconstructed or arranged so that the upper part of one track surface andthe lower part ofthe other track surface are a less distance apart thanthe central portions of said track surface on a horizontal line, thethrustmembers will be forcedv inward against the action of the springs28 gradually increasing the tension of said springs whereby any movementof the vehicle body will be gradually stopped and the incident shockabsorbed. j

If for any reason, the body supporting member 7 and the strut beam 2'are moved apart as when the wheels of the vehicle suddenly drop into adepression in the roadway or when the vehicle body is returning to itsnormal position after a ldownward movement thereof, then both thesprings 31 will be compressed, and the rollers 20 will be caused to runupon those portions of the arcuate tracks which are the least distanceapart at the top of said tracks causing the springs 28 toz be compressedso that said springs 28 and the springs 31 will gradually stop themovement of the vehicle body cushion the same and absorb any shock whichwould otherwise be transmitted to the vehicle body.

Y Of course, I do not wish to be limited to the exact details ofconstruction as herein shown as these may be varied within the limits ofthe appended claims Vwithout departing from the spirit ofinyyinvention". v

Havii'rg 'thus` fully described my invcenti'on what I claim as new andpatenta'bleis'-` l. In a device of the character stated a strut beam,arcuate track'meniber's secured to said beam, reach rods attached to theupfper ends of said track members, body snp-4 porting bar, ha'I itggersnsecured thereto', swinging members pivoted to said hangers, out- Wardl'yprojecting arms carried by: swinging members", rollers jonrna'ledinsaidarms and engaging the' arcuate track inembers", inwardly projecting lugsfrr'ned"with` said swinging members, .means for' normally forcing saidswinging members away from each' other. to ho'ld the' rollers contactwith the arcuate track members, andy resi-lient means acting upon the'outwardly projecting arms' f1 the swinging members" for normally holdingthem in a certain position'. l v

2. In" a devicev of the character stated a strut beam, arcuate trackmembers secured" to said beam, reach rods attached to` the' up'- perends of said' track members, a body sup: portiiigbar, hangers securedthereto, swing'- in'g members pivoted to saidjhangers, out-V wardlyprojecting arms carried' by' said swinging members, rollers journaled'in said arms and engaging' the arc'uatejtrackfmeniien bers, inwardlyprojecting lugs-formed with a said swinging members, a tubular memberp'ivoted to the lug ofgon'e swinging' member', a rod pivoted to'th'elug' of the' other swinging member, and collapsing within said' tubularmember, a spoolloos'ely mounted upon the tubular' member, a springmoi'intedfbetween eachr swinging member and each end of the spool fornormally" forcing the swinging members outward, a spring arranged be'-tween each of the outwardly projecting arms and the vstrut beam, and'vanother spring arranged' between each of said arms and the reach rods.

3. A vehicle' suspension and shock ab"- sorber comprising arcuate'tracks, body supporting means, thrust members pivotedto said bodysupporting means andc'oacting with the arcuatf-t'ract'ks andaresilienttelescoping element coacting with the' thrust lli? members fornormally forcing' thernfoutr porting means, thrust members pivoted toscoping means connected with the thrust said body supporting means,rollers carried members, a sleeve on said telescoping` means l@ by saidthrust members and engaging the arand L spring arranged between each endof cuate tracks, reach bars secured to said said sleeve and each thrustmember for n0rtracks, a spring arranged between the lower mally forcingsaid thrust members outward.

portion of each track and each thrust mem- In testimony whereof, I havehereunto ber, another spring arranged between the affixed my signature.reach bars and each thrust member', tele- FLETCHER O. BOSVELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washing-ton, D. C.

